mannc Posted October 9 Posted October 9 Anyone who's watched the Saints recently (including on MNF last night) has noticed WR Rashid Shaheed, who has emerged as one of the top deep-ball threats in the NFL. He's got unbelievable top-end speed, plenty of wiggle, excellent hands and is great at tracking the ball. In short, he is a nightmare for safeties and a guy that defense ignores at their peril. It hardly needs to be said that he's exactly the kind of receiver the Bills could use to open up their passing game. So how did the Saints land this game-breaker? Well, he was an undrafted free agent from Weber St. (1-AA school that is the alma mater of Taron Johnson and Damian Lillard), where he tied the NCAA record for most career kickoff returns for touchdown (10, I think). He played WR at Weber St and was productive but not amazing. He was probably on track to be a 5th or 6th round pick, but then he blew out his ACL near the end of his senior year...No NFL combine, no 40-yard dash, and no selection in the 2022 draft. But the Saints had been watching him closely and offered him a guarantee equal to what a fifth round pick would have received. But it wasn't all smooth sailing after that. At 2022 training camp, Shaheed was cut and then signed to the Saint's practice squad, then called up mid-season. His first two touches in a real NFL game resulted in (1) a 44-yard rushing TD on a jet sweep, and (2) a 53-yard TD pass from Andy Dalton. While he has not been the main focal point of the Saints' offense, he's been a guy who draws a lot of attention and creates a lot of space for others. He made the pro bowl last year and now seems poised to become a star in the league. Thanks for reading. Not Bills-related, but I just think Shaheed is an interesting story and it shows that there are all sorts of different paths to NFL stardom, and all sorts of ways that teams come up with difference-making players. 10 1 4 Quote
BringBackFergy Posted October 9 Posted October 9 Your thread title asks where he came from. Here’s my answer: WR Rashid Shaheed, who has emerged as one of the top deep-ball threats in the NFL. He's got unbelievable top-end speed, plenty of wiggle, excellent hands and is great at tracking the ball. In short, he is a nightmare for safeties and a guy that defense ignores at their peril. It hardly needs to be said that he's exactly the kind of receiver the Bills could use to open up their passing game. So how did the Saints land this game-breaker? Well, he was an undrafted free agent from Weber St. (1-AA school that is the alma mater of Taron Johnson and Damian Lillard), where he tied the NCAA record for most career kickoff returns for touchdown (10, I think). He played WR at Weber St and was productive but not amazing. He was probably on track to be a 5th or 6th round pick, but then he blew out his ACL near the end of his senior year...No NFL combine, no 40-yard dash, and no selection in the 2022 draft. But the Saints had been watching him closely and offered him a guarantee equal to what a fifth round pick would have received. But it wasn't all smooth sailing after that. At 2022 training camp, Shaheed was cut and then signed to the Saint's practice squad, then called up mid-season. His first two touches in a real NFL gameresulted in (1) a 44-yard rushing TD on a jet sweep, and (2) a 53-yard TD pass from Andy Dalton. While he has not been the main focal point of the Saints' offense, he's been a guy who draws a lot of attention and creates a lot of space for others. He made the pro bowl last year and now seems poised to become a star in the league. 12 Quote
Doc Posted October 9 Posted October 9 Sometimes teams get lucky with guys like that. Look at the Giants and Victor Cruz. If he keeps it up, it will be interesting to see what he gets next year since he will have 3 years in the NFL and want to get paid. 1 Quote
Miyagi-Do Karate Posted October 9 Posted October 9 2 minutes ago, MPL said: Is this secretly a Tyrell Shavers thread? Haha. my exact same thought. Quote
mannc Posted October 9 Author Posted October 9 4 minutes ago, Doc said: Sometimes teams get lucky with guys like that. Look at the Giants and Victor Cruz. If he keeps it up, it will be interesting to see what he gets next year since he will have 3 years in the NFL and want to get paid. They gave him a raise to $5.2 million for this season. The extensions work differently for guys who were UDFA… 4 minutes ago, MPL said: Is this secretly a Tyrell Shavers thread? I wish Quote
buffblue Posted October 9 Posted October 9 (edited) He's got quite a ways to go to become a top tier, number one caliber NFL receiver. But I think it's telling that he's basically drawing as many targets as Olave. Dude is definitely on the upswing and is extremely dangerous even if his current level ends up being close to his ceiling. Edited October 9 by buffblue Quote
Einstein Posted October 9 Posted October 9 That nightmare is on pace for 60-some receptions this year. 1 Quote
Billl Posted October 9 Posted October 9 9 minutes ago, Einstein said: That nightmare is on pace for 60-some receptions this year. With 1100 yards and 11 TDs. 1 1 Quote
Doc Posted October 9 Posted October 9 8 minutes ago, mannc said: They gave him a raise to $5.2 million for this season. The extensions work differently for guys who were UDFA… He made ~$1.2M total his first 2 seasons (2022 and 2023). He got a contract extension prior to this season that pays him an additional $1M in money this year and a $4.2M base salary next year with no real guaranteed money. If he has a monster season, that can be renegotiated. 1 Quote
mannc Posted October 9 Author Posted October 9 11 minutes ago, Billl said: With 1100 yards and 11 TDs. Not bad for a WR2 Quote
Maynard Posted October 9 Posted October 9 I believe he was born in Iran, but grew up in Poland. Quote
Aussie Joe Posted October 9 Posted October 9 57 minutes ago, mannc said: Not bad for a WR2 I would take it Quote
Mr. WEO Posted October 9 Posted October 9 2 hours ago, Doc said: Sometimes teams get lucky with guys like that. Look at the Giants and Victor Cruz. If he keeps it up, it will be interesting to see what he gets next year since he will have 3 years in the NFL and want to get paid. Get paid like a WR2/3 Quote
Mikie2times Posted October 9 Posted October 9 (edited) The locals talk about him a lot here. I guess he played high school ball and grew up in San Diego. Olave as well. Edited October 9 by Mikie2times Quote
Mike in Horseheads Posted October 9 Posted October 9 Where did he come from? Welllll, his mommy and daddy "wrestled" one night and then a stork dropped him off on the front porch 1 Quote
MJS Posted October 9 Posted October 9 All I know is I picked him up in fantasy because he was scoring points. Quote
Dr.Sack Posted October 9 Posted October 9 Tell me about the Bills PS WRs waiting for their one-shot. Quote
GunnerBill Posted October 9 Posted October 9 He came from Deonte Harty getting hurt, hard as that is to believe. Harty (then known as Harris) was their run vertical speed guy in 2021. Had 570 yards and 3 touchdowns. Shaheed came in as a rookie in 2022 and was cut at the end of camp and put on the practice squad. Week five Harty hurt his foot, went on IR and the Saints signed Shaheed to the active roster to replace him. The next week Shaheed was active and used in the vertical speed guy role. Had similar numbers in that role in 2022 to Harty the previous year and then has earned a bigger role in the offense ever since. When you are a UDFA you sometimes need luck (or someone else's misfortune) to get your opportunity. And generally you only get one. Shaheed got his at Harty's expense and made it pay. Well done to him. 3 Quote
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